Improvement in knitting-machine



2 SheetsfSheet 1.

`1fLA;HoUSE. KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Jam 4, 1870.

2 SheetsfSheet 2. K

4 KNI'I'TING MACHINE. No; 98,500.` Patented Jan.- 4, 1870n Il l I JITVMJJM. 4 2/ir stent dBA-Witt.

HENRY A. HOUSE, or nnlnenroair; CONNECTICUT.

' Lette/rs iatent N 98,500,dated January 4', 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTING-MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to lnthese Letters Paten't ,and making part of thesama.

To all whom it may con-cern Be, it known Vthat I, HENRY ..'HOUSE, ot'Bridge` port, in the county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in KnittingMachinery; and ldohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making part of this specication, in which- Figure 1,'shet 1,is a sectionthrough the machine, akenlin the horizontal plane indicated by line y inFigure 2, sheetlg'fis a longitudinal section through the machine, takenin the veltical plane indicated by line a: x in fig. 1.

.Figure 3, sheet 1,.-is -a Alongitudinal .sections-oi"theV frame,takeuin the saine plane as fig. 2, with the needlesand inner guide-plates orwallsV removed.

Figures 4 and 5, sheet 1,- are perspective views of needles and theirtoothed sections.

Figure 6, sheet 2, is an enlarged section, taken `transversely throughthe machine, as indicated by linezin'g. 1. p

4Similarg letters of reference indieatecorresponding parts in theseveralfigures. y

This invention relates to certainnovel improvements onv thatclass ofknitting-machinery which is adapted especially for knitting circularwork, but which is applicable'to the production of straight or singlework,

wherein the needles-are arranged'so as to travel aroundin'` the path ofa' flattened ellipse, and alsorise and descend, for receiving the yarnand casting off 'the' loops. Y The nature of my invention consists inproviding for Vincreasing Vor diminishing the capacity of aknittingmachneanda`ording guides-and `firm. supports for the needles atall times, by the employment of :tu extensible frame, constructed aswill be hereinafterl explained.' I

'.lo ,enable others skilled iu the art to understand my invention,l'will describe its construction and operation. i

I have not represented' in the accompanying drawf ings,devices forsupplying yarn to the needles and casting oi' the loops, for the reasonthat well-known devices, adapted for these purposes,may be employed. VArepresents the main portion Of the frame of the 4machine, which portionconsists of two parallel sides, l

terminatingin semicircular ends, one of which ends is cut away so as tolea.

1 tion, as shown in figs. 2-and 3.

Az represents thev'movable Vportion of the frame,v which is of asemicircular form, and tittedlsnuglypbetween the parallel sides of the.portion A, so as to be veonly a thin connecting por-` bridge-plate,H2., arranged beneath the baser-plate H1,

of .the section A2, this section can be rigidly secured to the portionA, at any desired distance from the closed end thereof.l

Within this extensible frame, plates g hh are ap- -:plied, so as to forma channel for receiving the toothed sections e of the needles e, andguiding these needles while in operation-.f -v

The plate or inner wall g is secured to the portion A, near its loweredge, and occupies about one-half the length`of this portion. I

i r1 he plate or wall h, which is semieircular,is secured to the movablesection A?, at a point near its lower 4edge; and the' narrow plates h liextend from the vertical edges ofthe plate or wall 71., and are fitted'into grooves made in the outersurfaces of the straight portions of thewalltg, so as -to be Hush with the said surfaces, as shown in iig'. 6..

.- y These narrow 'plates h-.h are connected to the wall y .g by screwst @which pass through long slots made through this wall, as shown infigs. 'l and 2,:at g'.

It will be seen, that the channel which is formed within theframe-sections A' A2, is endless, and of an equal width at-allpoints,and that this channel can "be lengthened or shortened by adjusting the'section A2.

The 'base of this channel is `formed by the off-sets or ways p, on theinner surface of the section A, which should be straight, or parallel tothe upper edges of this section, along those surfaces upon which thesection Azis required-to slide; and at those points where the needlesare required to take the yarn and cast oil' Vthe loops, the ways pshould be formed as shown in gs. 2 and 3, so as to elevate theneedles asthey successiyely pass around the closed end of the section A, and thenallow them Ato descend or dip. i

It will be, seen, by reference to figs. 2 and 3, that Y "the ways p arecarried around upon the inner side of the section A2, in anuninterrupted plane. l

Aboye the ways or shoulders p, is a groove, s, which is ,made in theinner. side of the section A, and continued around in the inner side ofthe adjustable sec?, tion A, above the ways .pi

I'Ihis groove s should be parallel to the Waysp, or equidistant fromthem at all points` throughout its length. i

At suitable points along the groove s, one or more switch-grooves, nl,lead fromit into a groove, n, from which 'one or more short verticalgrooves, n2, lead ont to theupper edge of the scctionA', for allowingthe insertion of the needles into their proper places, and a readyremoval of vone or more'needles from the machine. l

Each one of the needles e is secured to a quill or toothed-rack section,el, which is adaptedto fit snugly but loosely into the channel formedinthe'frame` above described, and which may be constructed with two ormore teeth, according to the distance apart it is re-v quired to havethe needles arranged in the frame.

Fig. 4 shows a needle, c, applied to a section, el, having three teeth;and iig. 5 shows a needle applied to a section having but two teeth.

These sections el collectively constitute an endless toothed rack, asshown in tig. 2, which rack is moved around in its channel by mea-ns ofone or more toothed wheels C.

Each needle section el has a short, round stud, c2, extending from itstoothed side, which is received by the groove s,.as shown in figs. 2 and6, and .affords a support for the needles and their sections in thisgroove, so that while the needles will all slide freely, they, will beheld down in their places, and be guided while-in operation by thegroove s.

rlhe studs e2 may be formed by bending the buts of the needles at rightangles to their shank portions, and passing these bent ends throughI'the sections el, as shown in one instance in fig. 2; or the studsmight be formed on the needle sections'in casting them.

To introduce the needles into the channel formed in frame A A2, thestuds c2 must be inserted into a vertical groove, u, and made to followthe course of the grooves n nl, and the same movements are rcquired toremove the needles.

When the required number of needles have beenV inserted into theilvchannel, as above stated, the sec-- tion A2 is pressed toward the closedend of section A, until all the quills or needle sections e2 are 'inclose contact with one another. The section Az'is then se'f cured fastby its binding screw H, and the machine is ready for operation.

The spurred wheels C C,.which engage with the teeth of the needlesect-ions el, and move these sections around in their channel, arearranged near the .closed end of frame section A, on opposite sidestheresot', and are keyed ou vertical shafts, 1) D, carrying spur-pinionsc c.

The teeth o f the spurs c c are oblique, and engage surfaces of thesesections, or they may be formed by a steel lining applied to saidsurfaces.

rlhe plate A1, which is secured to the bottom of 'frame section`A,beneath its chambered portion, will lserve as a bearing for the lowerends of the shafts I) 1), and also as a means for securing the machineto a table or other established object.

-I' am `aware that knitting-needles which were connected together bylinks have been applied to adjustable rollers or drums, applicable tochains of needles of different lengths; but I am not aware that anextensible frame, adapted for the working of disconnected needles, hasever been known or used prior to my invention. v

Having described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let' ters Patent, s'- l 1.An extensible frame or needle-support, composed of sections A A2, havinginterior guides applied to them, and. adapted for receiving, supporting,and guiding knitting-needles which are disconnected from ,each other,substantially as described. 4

2. The plates or bars h1, in combination with the sliding vframe sectionA2, and inner walls g h, for connecting these walls and forming acontinuation of the needle-guide channel between them, substantially asdesciibed.

HENRY A. HOUSE.

Witnesses i l Y l DAVID B. iLocxwoon, -DOMINIGK CONLI'N.

